Weblog 200
December 6, 2009~ 12:00am
I started my vacation when I left the office on Friday. I always take a few days in early December, and this time, a whole week off of work! (It calms me before the frantic rush around at the holidays themselves.) Feels good to know I don't have to get up before dawn for the next 9 days, and that I can sleep, and pretty much make my own schedule for online shopping, writing Christmas cards, a little cleaning -(maybe...lol)- and my BIG thing will be to buy a new clothes washer.
On Friday night, still 'celebrating' the heady feeling of being off, I decided to snap a few pictures of myself in the kitchen mirror.....
First of all.....do NOT try this with the flash turned on if you're shooting straight into a mirror. LOL!! (Actually, the effect was so interesting- even kind of creepy, I decided to post it.) Looks like fairy dust sparkling, or something paranormal going on (instead of the subnormal brain of the person taking the picture, who shoulda known better.)
Here's a neat one. Looks sort of 'artsy'- that off-centered placement and the green textured plaster. Somewhere in this blog I have an vintage Italian postcard that looks similar in theme. That's what struck me.
Then I experimented with changing to black and white, sorta sepia-toned
in fact, I like that so much, if I had intentions of doing another self-published poetry book, I'd use that as the cover's center, framed in tan with black lettering. (That'll never happen because the price those books sell for now has become so prohibitive nobody's gonna buy 'em. What could once be printed for thirteen bucks has jumped to about twenty-five! Ridiculous.) And those are the books under a hundred pages-- no artwork or photos. Gracious me! The damn self-publishing business priced themselves out of being even remotely practical.
Why these self-portraits?
Sometimes I don't feel 'real'-- I feel that I've become a disembodied voice on the Internet droning on and on, and it's nice to get a look at the person behind it-- even for me. (And honestly, who else is gonna snap shots of a 58 year old woman except the woman herself?) I rarely appear in pictures because I'm always the one taking them, so here 'ya go. Karen. Standing up while falling slowly down. Asi es la vida.
My old posting boards have not come back up. They've been down for five days and I know in my heart, those poems I never backed up in any way are gone for good.
It's a harsh lesson, but it's also an instruction in impermanence. It's a slap on the hand that really shouldn't be. Nothing lasts. Even things of tremendous beauty- even lives- eventually fall to dust.
The lesson of Tibetan Buddhists in their art of sand painting, where the most intricate and carefully constructed patterns are painstakingly created
only to be whisked away in a demonstration of the futility of trying to hang on to a thing-- anything at all --and it's a powerful lesson indeed.
We hold in the heart what cannot be kept by any other means.
Though I've opened a new board, I feel no proprietary inclination toward it. If the web teaches anything, it's that anything can disappear, and will, in time-- and it's only those vital sparks that send fiery bits heavenward that matter....and that they continue to burn.
(And of course....back up, back up, back up. LOL!!)
December 6, 2009~ 2:00am
Ok. Remember what it was like to be horrified by the man in the red suit, scratchy whiskers??
You probably have your own picture of sitting terribly uncomfortably on a stranger's lap, having someone snap a photo. I know I spent the last half hour looking for mine so I could post it at Sketchy Santas - but to no avail. It's hidden somewhere in this messy house, and may take till Easter to find it. Oh my goodness, how I enjoy these squirming, shrieking kids. (Does that make me a sadist? LOL!!) Enjoy.
December 7, 2009~ 2:00am
Greedy ad execs at Network 54 plastered stupid ads ALL OVER the place on my newest posting board. I've just spent my evening finding and setting up a new one. This one's called
and it has been. The Internet and I have an ongoing, 11 year old battle over junk. The mercenary side of the net just galls me.....expecially when it tries to sell itself on 'cuteness' and colorful applications that do nothing but market, market, market. This one's not fancy.....not customized in any way, but when they say it's 'AD FREE'- these people mean it! (And they promise to keep it that way... thank God.)
So that was many hours of my day. The rest was well-occupied... from 10:00 o'clock a.m. when I went to my daughter's to babysit, then over to mum's to have dinner with her, the day was full. I was tired when I got back home at seven this evening, only to find I had no power. Two blocks of Route 88 was pitch black. LOL!!!
Nothing to do by get out the Coleman lantern, get into a warm robe (it was COLD in the house)- fill up a hot water bottle and crawl into bed with a booklight attached to the top like a praying mantis looming over the upper margin.
I was flirting with the idea of clipping it onto a headband...when the lights finally came back on at 8:30. The power had been out for 8 HOURS today but I missed most of it- except that last hour and a half, so I've been busy online getting all that board nonsense taken care of and set up- transferring poems, etc. Now it's done. The other 'interim board' created, and I'm about ready to crawl back into bed. Sayonara for now. ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz.
December 8, 2009~ 7:00pm
I was a slug today. LOL!! Slept till almost 2:00pm, and the only thing accomplished was a very nice visit to see mum late this afternoon. I had an idea that I'd then traipse on to the mall, and buy a washer at Sears, but the weather report cautioned the possibility of freezing rain. Although it was predicted east of us.....that's all this old girl needs to hear. That purchase is gonna have to wait. Perhaps I'll do my online shopping in a while here, who knows? (I'm a terribly procrastinating, lazy sort, and given free reign, sloth reigns. Manana is my motto. Lord help me.) :)
December 10, 2009~ 10:00pm
Home from seeing mum's 'Christmas Canata' (I'm gonna write about that on Sunday...but it was wonderful.) I did my online Christmas shopping yesterday, and I must tell you that although I've been singing the praises of that option since I first wrote about shopping from one's living room back in 2005, each year it's gotten a bit more frustrating- with yesterday being in the innermost circles of hell.
The 'Discovery Store' is where I've been shopping online every Christmas, and they've always had a nice selection- for everyone in the family -up until this year. That was the first disappointment. They've lopped off just about anything that doesn't have to do with their TV programs- or kids ----and allowed other categories such as robes and slippers, housewares, aromatherapy-type doodads and imaginative lamps, etc., to just fall off the map. (Makes shopping for gifts for women a bit of a challenge.) I like to shop at one store online, and this was always a good choice....free shipping, gift wrap if you want...just really a great way to go.
So.....the selection was down. That was bad enough. Secondly, they've redesigned their website so it loads like a Cecille B. Demille set....loading...loading...junk.... and more junk and flash ads. (I opted to nix 'images' and just go with javascript. Blindly, I'd right click to see what the link was, then hit enter. That worked pretty good up until check out. That's when my computer FROZE UP, REPEATEDLY. I can't tell you how many times I had to shut down Firefox, clean all cookies and junk and go back in to build the list again. (Let me say my shopping began at about 2 in the afternoon, and ended at half past one in the morning.
It used to be so simple: choose, type in credit card information, have it verified and the order placed--- shipped out the next day. Little boxes though a magic blue tube of electronics, my house to yours. NOW.... they've added Mcafee VIRUS PROTECTION (my rank nemesis...(no kidding...just type 'Mcafee sucks' in Google and you'll get at ton of hits) and brought other companies onboard to pitch in and protect against fraud, so their site is LOADED with safeguards and checkpoints. Right now, the order for my daughter's family is 'Active, On Hold'-- which means they haven't cleared it for shipment yet. You know why? I called their 800 number today and found that it's because the 'shipping address is different than the billing address, and that sends up flags for fraud.' Well holy shit... wouldn't you think gifts would be sent to a different address than the person ORDERING them, gift-wrapped? Does any of this make sense?
I'll check again tomorrow but I'm about ready to cancel the order and write the family a check. Ridiculous. Ridiculous and frustrating as hell. (At least they took me off the 'fraud' list. That's what the status of my order was when I first checked: "FRAUD, ACTIVE, ON HOLD".)
Numbskulls.
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
I started my vacation when I left the office on Friday. I always take a few days in early December, and this time, a whole week off of work! (It calms me before the frantic rush around at the holidays themselves.) Feels good to know I don't have to get up before dawn for the next 9 days, and that I can sleep, and pretty much make my own schedule for online shopping, writing Christmas cards, a little cleaning -(maybe...lol)- and my BIG thing will be to buy a new clothes washer.
On Friday night, still 'celebrating' the heady feeling of being off, I decided to snap a few pictures of myself in the kitchen mirror.....
First of all.....do NOT try this with the flash turned on if you're shooting straight into a mirror. LOL!! (Actually, the effect was so interesting- even kind of creepy, I decided to post it.) Looks like fairy dust sparkling, or something paranormal going on (instead of the subnormal brain of the person taking the picture, who shoulda known better.)
Here's a neat one. Looks sort of 'artsy'- that off-centered placement and the green textured plaster. Somewhere in this blog I have an vintage Italian postcard that looks similar in theme. That's what struck me.
Then I experimented with changing to black and white, sorta sepia-toned
in fact, I like that so much, if I had intentions of doing another self-published poetry book, I'd use that as the cover's center, framed in tan with black lettering. (That'll never happen because the price those books sell for now has become so prohibitive nobody's gonna buy 'em. What could once be printed for thirteen bucks has jumped to about twenty-five! Ridiculous.) And those are the books under a hundred pages-- no artwork or photos. Gracious me! The damn self-publishing business priced themselves out of being even remotely practical.
Why these self-portraits?
Sometimes I don't feel 'real'-- I feel that I've become a disembodied voice on the Internet droning on and on, and it's nice to get a look at the person behind it-- even for me. (And honestly, who else is gonna snap shots of a 58 year old woman except the woman herself?) I rarely appear in pictures because I'm always the one taking them, so here 'ya go. Karen. Standing up while falling slowly down. Asi es la vida.
My old posting boards have not come back up. They've been down for five days and I know in my heart, those poems I never backed up in any way are gone for good.
It's a harsh lesson, but it's also an instruction in impermanence. It's a slap on the hand that really shouldn't be. Nothing lasts. Even things of tremendous beauty- even lives- eventually fall to dust.
The lesson of Tibetan Buddhists in their art of sand painting, where the most intricate and carefully constructed patterns are painstakingly created
only to be whisked away in a demonstration of the futility of trying to hang on to a thing-- anything at all --and it's a powerful lesson indeed.
We hold in the heart what cannot be kept by any other means.
Though I've opened a new board, I feel no proprietary inclination toward it. If the web teaches anything, it's that anything can disappear, and will, in time-- and it's only those vital sparks that send fiery bits heavenward that matter....and that they continue to burn.
December 6, 2009~ 2:00am
Ok. Remember what it was like to be horrified by the man in the red suit, scratchy whiskers??
You probably have your own picture of sitting terribly uncomfortably on a stranger's lap, having someone snap a photo. I know I spent the last half hour looking for mine so I could post it at Sketchy Santas - but to no avail. It's hidden somewhere in this messy house, and may take till Easter to find it. Oh my goodness, how I enjoy these squirming, shrieking kids. (Does that make me a sadist? LOL!!) Enjoy.
December 7, 2009~ 2:00am
Greedy ad execs at Network 54 plastered stupid ads ALL OVER the place on my newest posting board. I've just spent my evening finding and setting up a new one. This one's called
and it has been. The Internet and I have an ongoing, 11 year old battle over junk. The mercenary side of the net just galls me.....expecially when it tries to sell itself on 'cuteness' and colorful applications that do nothing but market, market, market. This one's not fancy.....not customized in any way, but when they say it's 'AD FREE'- these people mean it! (And they promise to keep it that way... thank God.)
So that was many hours of my day. The rest was well-occupied... from 10:00 o'clock a.m. when I went to my daughter's to babysit, then over to mum's to have dinner with her, the day was full. I was tired when I got back home at seven this evening, only to find I had no power. Two blocks of Route 88 was pitch black. LOL!!!
Nothing to do by get out the Coleman lantern, get into a warm robe (it was COLD in the house)- fill up a hot water bottle and crawl into bed with a booklight attached to the top like a praying mantis looming over the upper margin.
I was flirting with the idea of clipping it onto a headband...when the lights finally came back on at 8:30. The power had been out for 8 HOURS today but I missed most of it- except that last hour and a half, so I've been busy online getting all that board nonsense taken care of and set up- transferring poems, etc. Now it's done. The other 'interim board' created, and I'm about ready to crawl back into bed. Sayonara for now. ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz.
December 8, 2009~ 7:00pm
I was a slug today. LOL!! Slept till almost 2:00pm, and the only thing accomplished was a very nice visit to see mum late this afternoon. I had an idea that I'd then traipse on to the mall, and buy a washer at Sears, but the weather report cautioned the possibility of freezing rain. Although it was predicted east of us.....that's all this old girl needs to hear. That purchase is gonna have to wait. Perhaps I'll do my online shopping in a while here, who knows? (I'm a terribly procrastinating, lazy sort, and given free reign, sloth reigns. Manana is my motto. Lord help me.) :)
December 10, 2009~ 10:00pm
Home from seeing mum's 'Christmas Canata' (I'm gonna write about that on Sunday...but it was wonderful.) I did my online Christmas shopping yesterday, and I must tell you that although I've been singing the praises of that option since I first wrote about shopping from one's living room back in 2005, each year it's gotten a bit more frustrating- with yesterday being in the innermost circles of hell.
The 'Discovery Store' is where I've been shopping online every Christmas, and they've always had a nice selection- for everyone in the family -up until this year. That was the first disappointment. They've lopped off just about anything that doesn't have to do with their TV programs- or kids ----and allowed other categories such as robes and slippers, housewares, aromatherapy-type doodads and imaginative lamps, etc., to just fall off the map. (Makes shopping for gifts for women a bit of a challenge.) I like to shop at one store online, and this was always a good choice....free shipping, gift wrap if you want...just really a great way to go.
So.....the selection was down. That was bad enough. Secondly, they've redesigned their website so it loads like a Cecille B. Demille set....loading...loading...junk.... and more junk and flash ads. (I opted to nix 'images' and just go with javascript. Blindly, I'd right click to see what the link was, then hit enter. That worked pretty good up until check out. That's when my computer FROZE UP, REPEATEDLY. I can't tell you how many times I had to shut down Firefox, clean all cookies and junk and go back in to build the list again. (Let me say my shopping began at about 2 in the afternoon, and ended at half past one in the morning.
It used to be so simple: choose, type in credit card information, have it verified and the order placed--- shipped out the next day. Little boxes though a magic blue tube of electronics, my house to yours. NOW.... they've added Mcafee VIRUS PROTECTION (my rank nemesis...(no kidding...just type 'Mcafee sucks' in Google and you'll get at ton of hits) and brought other companies onboard to pitch in and protect against fraud, so their site is LOADED with safeguards and checkpoints. Right now, the order for my daughter's family is 'Active, On Hold'-- which means they haven't cleared it for shipment yet. You know why? I called their 800 number today and found that it's because the 'shipping address is different than the billing address, and that sends up flags for fraud.' Well holy shit... wouldn't you think gifts would be sent to a different address than the person ORDERING them, gift-wrapped? Does any of this make sense?
I'll check again tomorrow but I'm about ready to cancel the order and write the family a check. Ridiculous. Ridiculous and frustrating as hell. (At least they took me off the 'fraud' list. That's what the status of my order was when I first checked: "FRAUD, ACTIVE, ON HOLD".)
Numbskulls.
(Return To Weekly Archives)
...
. or pay a visit to my Audio site to hear things
I've written- 
